PA schools named after terrorists
raise generation of terror-admiring youth

Girls in school named after female terrorist bomb-maker see terrorist as role model:

"The school is named after her
to commemorate her and memorialize her
and encourage people to be like her"

"She was a model
of the wonderful female Palestinian fighter.
We follow her path in this school"

"Shadia was a model for us... and we'll follow her path"

Member of the PFLP political bureau:

"With her blood she delineated a path
for all of Palestine's women"

by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

The Palestinian Authority educates its children to view terrorists who have murdered Israelis as role models. One of the prominent ways the PA glorifies this terror, as documented repeatedly by Palestinian Media Watch, is by naming schools, cultural events, sporting events, streets and more after terrorists.

The educational impact of this practice on Palestinian youth was confirmed in a program on PA TV about a PA high school for girls named after the female terrorist Shadia Abu Ghazaleh. Many students interviewed said they admired the bomb-maker and saw her as a role model. Abu Ghazaleh was active in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror organization and involved in many attacks against Israel. She was preparing a bomb intended for an attack in Tel Aviv in 1968, when it accidentally detonated and killed her.

"What do you know about Shadia Abu Ghazaleh?" the PA TV host asked students. "Truly, Shadia was a model for us and will remain a model for us and we'll follow her path," one girl responded, while others described the terrorist as "a patriotic woman," "a wonderful fighter," and "a model" to be followed:

"She was a model of the wonderful female Palestinian fighter. We follow her path in this school."

"[She] is a model of the patriotic woman who stood with the men against Zion..."

"[She] did something great in the homeland."

"I know she is a Martyr and that she had an important role. She fought. The school is named after her to commemorate her and memorialize her and encourage people to be like her."

There are many PA schools named after terrorists, including at least two high schools and one kindergarten named after terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who led a bus hijacking in which 37 Israelis, 12 of them children, were murdered:

In addition, there are three PA schools named after terrorist Salah Khalaf, who planned the attack and murder of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics and the murder of two American diplomats; four schools named after terrorist Abu Jihad, who planned terror attacks that murdered 125 Israelis; and even a school named after Saddam Hussein, who the PA sees as a hero because he attacked Israel with missiles during the Gulf War and fought the US.

There are also eight PA schools named after Al-Khansa, the "Mother of Martyrs." Al-Khansa was an Arab woman who is honored in Islamic tradition (7th century) for sending her 4 sons to battle and rejoicing when they all died as Martyrs. The PA has encouraged children to be Martyrs and encourages mothers to celebrate their children's Martyrdom deaths. The PA's naming of eight schools after a woman whose only significance is her celebration of her 4 sons' deaths is a striking indicator of the PA's promotion of Martyrdom as a positive value and achievement among its children.

In its recent broadcast about the Shadia Abu Ghazaleh School, PA TV also interviewed a member of the terror organization PFLP's political bureau. Mariam Abu Daqqa said about the terrorist: "With her blood she delineated a path for all of Palestine's women, [according to which] later tales of bravery were written." She mentioned as an example Dalal Mughrabi, who led a terror attack in which 37 Israelis were killed.

PA TV also included footage of a portrait of terrorist Shadia Abu Ghazaleh and an inscription on the school wall:

"[Abu Ghazaleh's] political activity began at a young age... She participated in the operation (i.e., terror attack) that blew up a bus... She was at home preparing a bomb in order to detonate it in an Israeli building in Tel Aviv, but it exploded in her hands and she died a Martyr."

A sign on the school wall stated that the school is an official PA school:

"The Palestinian National Authority
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education
The Northern Gaza Education Administration
The Shadia Abu Ghazaleh High School for Girls"

The following is a longer excerpt from the PA TV program about the high school for girls named after terrorist Shadia Abu Ghazaleh:

PA TV host: "What do you know about Shadia Abu Ghazaleh, you study in a school named after her?"

Girl 1: "I know she is a Martyr and that she had an important role. She fought. The school is named after her to commemorate her
and memorialize her and encourage people to be like her."

Sign: "Shadia Abu Ghazaleh High School for Girls"

Girl 2: "Shadia Abu Ghazaleh is a model of the patriotic woman who stood with the men against Zion..."

Girl 3: "We're happy that our school is named after a very well-known Martyr, who played a role and who did something great in the homeland. Shadia Abu Ghazaleh was a prominent fighter. She was one of the Palestinian people's first fighters."

Girl 4: "She was a model of the wonderful female Palestinian fighter. We follow her path in this school."

Girl 5: "Truly, Shadia was a model for us and will remain a model for us and we'll follow her path."

PA TV host: "Dear viewers, Shadia Abu Ghazaleh - a young female fighter and the first female Martyr of the modern Palestinian revolution..."

Sign on school wall: "The Palestinian National Authority
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education
The Northern Gaza Education Administration
The Shadia Abu Ghazaleh High School for Girls"

Member of the PFLP political bureau, Mariam Abu Daqqa: "Shadia died as a Martyr but she still remains. With her blood she delineated a path for all of Palestine's women, [according to which] later tales of bravery were written by Taghrid Al-Batma, Dalal Mughrabi and others like them..."

Mural and biography of Al-Ghazaleh on school wall: [Excerpt:] "Shadia Abu Ghazaleh... participated in the operation (i.e., terror attack) that blew up a bus. She was at home preparing a bomb in order to detonate it in an Israeli building in Tel Aviv but it exploded in her hands and she died a Martyr."

[Official PA TV, Dec. 5 and 9, 2013]

Shadia Abu Ghazaleh was active in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror organization and was involved in many attacks against Israel. While she was preparing a bomb for an attack in Tel Aviv in 1968, it accidentally detonated and killed her.

Dalal Mughrabi - led the most lethal terror attack in Israel's history in 1978, when she and other terrorists hijacked a bus and killed 37 civilians, 12 of them children.